A.I. (人工智能) is just starting to become part of our lives, and books and movies have been talking about A.I. and robots for years. Mostly, in these books and movies,  the computers and robots turn out to be the enemies of  the human race. Here is a selection of some famous A.I.  movies..

     2001: A Space Odyssey

     In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL is one of the first computers to talk like a human.  HAL is very frightening because it speaks in a calm voice as it goes on a killing spree (疯狂杀戮). When the astronauts attempt to hide in a smaller spaceship and switch off the microphones,  HAL uses a camera to read their lips and understand what the astronauts are saying.

     The Terminator

     In The Terminator, a computer thinks that its deadly enemies are human beings.  As a result,  the computer launches missiles (导弹) to start international wars and then builds killer robots to destroy the human race.

     The Matr/x

     In The Matrix,  a computer takes over the world and uses human beings for energy.   The computer keeps people alive by making them think that they are still living normal lives. A few brave rebels (叛逆者) decide to fight against the computer.

     Star War movies

     In the Star War movies,  computerised robots are used as servants and soldiers. R2-D2, a small cylindrical (圆柱形的) robot, and C-3PO, a tall talking robot, help some humans defeat the evil ruler,  Darth Vader,  in a dangerous battle between the forces of good and evil.

1, In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, the astronauts switch off the microphones to

    A. prevent HAL hearing whom they axe calling

    B. prevent HAL hearing what they are saying

    C. force HAL to use a camera

    D. force HAL to speak loudly

2. If you want to know how an intelligent computer uses human beings for energy, you should watch __

    A. The Terminator.

    B. 2001: A Space Odyssey'

    C. Star War movies

    D. The Matrix

3. R2-D2 and C-3PO stand for

    A. the scientific forces

    B. the natural forces

    C. the good forces

    D. the evil forces

4. What do the four movies have in common?

    A. They all have the same ending.

    B. They are about a similar theme.

C. They are all based on science fiction books.

D. They started heated discussions about A.I.

 

For travellers who want to experience some of the history and mystery of the ancient world, here is a list of cool destinations for your next holiday.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Built in the 12th century, Angkor Wat (meaning “capital monastery”) was a temple in the ancient Khmer capital city of Angkor. It is Cambodia’s best-known tourist attraction and is famed for its beautiful architecture and reliefs. You’ll need at least three days to fully discover the delights of this magnificent site.

Machu Picchu, Peru

Machu Picchu was built high in the Andes Mountains of South America by the Inca in the 15th century. Although well preserved its exact purpose is unknown. It is famous throughout the world not only for its incredible design but also for the natural beauty that surrounds it. Give yourself a week to explore this magnificent site.

Stonehenge, England

The entire Stonehenge site was constructed over thousands of years. But why and how it was built remains a mystery. As the weather can be pretty bleak in winter and the crowds huge in summer, we suggest autumn should be the best time to visit these monster rocks.

Pompeii, Italy

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D., Pompeii was buried under many layers of ash, preserving the city exactly as it was when the volcano erupted. Because so many objects were preserved, scientists and visitors are able to better understand daily life in the ancient Roman Empire.

1.Why may people want to visit Machu Picchu?

A．To climb the Andes Mountains.	B．To discover how it was built.
C．To explore both history and nature.	D．To learn to speak Spanish.

2.When is the best time to visit Stonehenge according to the passage?

A．Summer.

B．Spring.

C．Winter.

D．Autumn.

3.Which location offers the most direct view into daily life in the ancient world?

A．Pompeii.

B．Stonehenge.

C．Ankor Wat.

D．Machu Picchu.

4.Where would you probably read such an article?

A．In a travel magazine.	B．In a scientific journal.
C．In a history textbook.	D．In an adventure novel.

 

Back those photos up
The images were striking．Homes on the East Coast were washed away by Superstorm Sandy. People were in tears, picking up faded photographs, among their only remaining possessions．
If that doesn't move you to get serious about safekeeping your lifetime of memories, what will? The digital age offers tools never imaginable before—including one-click access to a lifetime of family photos．
Here is a brochure (手册) on how to back up (存) your photos and save them online, where they can live forever and be accessible in good times and bad．
Scanning
The first step for those old photos is to scan them and save them to a digital format (格式)．Most，printers come with scanners these days, so that's an easy but extremely time-consuming step．
Storing the photos
With your scans in place, import the photos into your computer, and back them up．
You could make multiple copies of the disks and spread them to loved ones．Or you could choose external (外接的) hard drives or USB thumb drive, and add your photo and video collection from your computer．
Online backup
If you need lots of space, look at a pure online backup service, Caronite．
Caronite backs up 300 million files daily．Once you sign up, it starts to pick up everything you have on your hard drive．But photo collection on your computer's main hard drive charges for $ 59 a year．
Cloud Storage
For folks who don't need automatic backup, but instead want to take a more active approach, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft's SkyDrive let you store files online by yourself, share and instantly access them．All offer free options—2GB of free storage for Dropbox, 5GB for Google and 7GB for SkyDrive．But if you want more, you need to pay．
Bottom Line
The hard drive or flash drive is the cheapest and easiest．But drives can fail．Online services are more expensive, but more secure．With more of us switching back and forth between our computers, such services are the best way to get access to our data from wherever we are．
【小题1】What can we know from the passage?

A．Scanning photos takes little time but costs a lot．

B．The hard drive or flash drive is the cheapest and safest．

C．Google Drive offers unlimited free photo storage on line．

D．Caronite charges for backing up photos from hard drive．

【小题2】Which of the following allows storing files automatically?

A．Caronite．

B．Dropbox．

C．SkyDrive．

D．Flash drive.

【小题3】The main purpose of the passage is to ______．

A．tell real stories about storage services

B．introduce some of the storage services

C．describe the functions of storage services

D．argue about the advantage of storage services

阅读下面的短文，然后以约30个词概括短文内容。

Everyone has an experience they would never forget. Some are embarrassing, some are moving, and some teach us a lesson. Here is a story of mine.

Last Sunday I went fishing. After setting up my fishing rod with bait, I sat down on the bank of the lake. But two hours later, I didn’t catch any fish. I got very angry and began to pack up my stuff, preparing to go back home.

Just then, I saw an old man sitting near me. To my surprise, his basket was full of fish, so I went over to him, wanting to know why. “Excuse me, but how long have you sat here?” I asked. “About four hours,” he answered. “Four hours?” I couldn’t believe my ears. “Yes. It’s very important to be patient,” the old man said. “Don’t consider fishing a tiring sport. Just enjoy it.” Suddenly, I understood what he said. I must learn to be patient. Then I sat there and waited for fish patiently. I felt a fish touch the bait, but I didn’t move and waited for the right moment to reel it in. At last, I caught it. This made me very happy. In the following six hours, I caught over 10 fish.

On my way home, I thought what had happened on the bank. I gradually realized that the secret of success was patience.

 

Have you got any wonderful plans for your coming winter vacation? Here are some wonderful films for you to kill time.

Away We Go With a baby on his way, a young couple,  Burt and Verona, look at their lives and are puzzled about what they really want. So they hit the road and seek a place to call home. On their journey, they visit a handful of characters and learned a lot. It’s about taking the scenic route in life, preparing for the hope and excitement and fear of new beginnings, while never forgetting to look out of the window.

Orphan   Easther, a bright and well-behaved child, however, is not as innocent as she appears. Soon after being taken home, the peace of her adoptive family is completely changed… You want a good horror film about a child from hell? Then you got one! Do not, in any cases, take children to see it.

500 Days of Summer  Tom is in love with Summer from the moment he sees her. Can he accept that she simply likes him for now, not for forever? The movie is about Tom wrestling with that reality. Tom remembers his love, Summer, as a series of joys and bafflements(阻碍,迷惑). But Summer is just herself and he cannot have her. Here is a rare movie that begins by telling us how it will end and is about how the hero has no idea why.

2012 The director Roland Emmerich successfully dresses a corny story with an old Mayan prediction, which is believed by many to happen in the coming 2012 and as a result, attracts millions of people into the cinema.    It’s just an entertaining Hollywood blockbuster(大片) with plenty of jokes, instead of a description of what the end of the world is really like. Don’t take it too seriously!

1. This passage aims to __________.

 A. make comments on films for a cinema     B. introduce films for a film corporation

 C. recommend several films for fun          D. advertise several films for a website

2.If you bring your seven-year-old sister to the cinema, which of the following film should you avoid?

 A. Away We Go.        B. Orphan.        C. 2012.       D. 500 Days of Summer.

3. Among all the characters mentioned in the passage, who directed films in Hollywood?

   A. Roland Emmerich.   B. Tom and Summer.  C. Burt and Verona.  D. Esther.

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Orphan is a comedy about Esther adopted by a kind family.

B. 500 Days of Summer is a romance with a happy ending.

C. Away We Go shows beautiful scenery on the young couple’s journey.

D. The ancient Mayan prediction is going to happen in 2012.